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The advance corporate tax paid by top 94 Mumbai-based corporate houses was down marginally at Rs 43,123 crore (Rs 43,586 crore) in the first three quarters of this fiscal, according to Income-Tax Department sources.
For the December quarter, these companies, which contribute about 70 per cent of overall corporate tax collection in Mumbai, paid Rs 16,691 crore (Rs 16,750 crore).
The fall in advance tax collection is disturbing considering that companies pay about 75 per cent of their tax commitment for the entire fiscal in the December quarter, said a cement company executive.
“With no indication of a respite from high interest in the RBI policy today, we expect the next few quarters to remain challenging. Companies have to conserve cash by trimming spends and tightening capital expenditure,” he added.
OIL COS SLIP
Piramal Healthcare, which paid Rs 3,543 crore last year, paid just Rs 5 crore (Rs 2,650 crore) in the first three quarters this fiscal. The company had a one-time revenue from exit of a core business last year.
Indian Oil has not made any remittance in the first three quarters of the current fiscal, while BPCL has skipped payment for the December quarter, which probably reflects the impact of the rupee depreciation on their revenues. Indian Oil had paid Rs 1,276 crore and BPCL Rs 332 crore last fiscal.
UNCERTAINTY IN INFRA
Holcim Group's Ambuja Cement and ACC saw payouts doubling to Rs 113 crore (Rs 60 crore) and Rs 95 crore (Rs 40 crore), largely due to lower base last year. Aditya Birla Group companies UltraTech Cement and Grasim paid lower advance tax of Rs 210 crore (Rs 230 crore) and Rs 120 crore (Rs 160 crore). Lafarge's payout was down to Rs 45 crore (Rs 68 crore).
In the metals space, Hindustan Zinc paid Rs 400 crore (Rs 325 crore), while Hindalco matched its last year payout of Rs 200 crore. Engineering and infrastructure major L&T's payment was lower at Rs 350 crore (Rs 370 crore).
The higher tax payment by some of the metal and cement companies amid slowing infrastructure activities was mainly due to a sharp rise in selling price and increase in their production capacity, said an analyst.
Auto majors Tata Motors and M&M disappointed with a lower payout of Rs 80 crore (Rs 220 crore) and Rs 210 (Rs 230 crore). However, Bajaj Auto upped its payment 22 per cent at Rs 450 crore (Rs 370 crore).
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